Türkiye’de sürdürülebilirlik raporlaması uygulamaları

Companies have increasingly adopted and implemented corporate sustainability practices as ethical and responsible businessguidelines, environment management systems, social responsibility projects. The increase in corporate sustainability practicescreate an interest in sustainability reporting for external disclosure of corporate sustainability. The current study aims toanalyse the corporate sustainability reporting practices by analyzing business groups in Turkey. The findings indicate that only21% of the examined business groups have sustainability reports, and thereby, sustainability reporting is low among Turkishbusiness groups. On the other hand, the limited number of business groups that report their sustainability practices arefound out to be closely committed to the principles of UN Global Compact. The study concludes by suggesting that legal andstructural frameworks are needed for a more developed sustainability reporting practices in Turkey.İşletmelerin etik ve sorumlu iş pratikleri, operasyonel yönetim sistemleri ve sosyal sorumluluk projeleri gibi sürdürülebilirlik faaliyetlerini her geçen gün daha fazla uyguladıkları görülmektedir. Kurumsal sürdürülebilirlik yaklaşımının uygulamalara yansıyan bir yönü de sürdürülebilirlik raporlamasıdır. Bu çalışma, Türkiye'deki işletme gruplarının sürdürülebilirlik raporlama uygulamalarını incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Bulgular, incelenen işletme gruplardan sadece %21’inin sürdürülebilirlik raporu yayınladığını ve sürdürülebilirlik raporlamasının Türkiye'deki işletme gruplarınca yaygın bir şekilde benimsenmediğini göstermektedir. Öte yandan, sürdürülebilirlik uygulamalarını raporlayan sınırlı sayıda işletme grubunun, BM Küresel İlkeler Sözleşmesi ilkelerini rehber aldıkları ve faaliyetlerini bu ilkeler çerçevesinde raporladıkları tespit edilmiştir. Bulgulara dayanarak çalışma, Türkiye'de sürdürülebilirlik raporlaması uygulamalarının gelişimi için yasal ve yapısal çerçevelerin oluşturulmasını önermektedir

The university identity : communication of identity themes

Earlier research has brought organizational identity to the fore as an institutional response to the developments in higher education field. Following literature, this study aims to examine the organizational identity of universities through an analysis of themes communicated at their websites. The study findings reveal that participant universities communicate five common identity themes institutionalized by higher education field. Among these themes, social values presented to the society for belongingness and capacity for enriching main university functions are found out to be most communicated themes. The findings also show that each university communicates distinct themes that still fall under these five common themes. Therefore, the study presents that distinct themes symbolizing the uniqueness claim of the university identity emerge within the pre-determined theme categories in the field.peer-reviewe

Translation of Cellular Senescence to Novel Therapeutics: Insights From Alternative Tools and Models.

peer reviewedIncreasing chronological age is the greatest risk factor for human diseases. Cellular senescence (CS), which is characterized by permanent cell-cycle arrest, has recently emerged as a fundamental mechanism in developing aging-related pathologies. During the aging process, senescent cell accumulation results in senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) which plays an essential role in tissue dysfunction. Although discovered very recently, senotherapeutic drugs have been already involved in clinical studies. This review gives a summary of the molecular mechanisms of CS and its role particularly in the development of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) as the leading cause of death. In addition, it addresses alternative research tools including the nonhuman and human models as well as computational techniques for the discovery of novel therapies. Finally, senotherapeutic approaches that are mainly classified as senolytics and senomorphics are discussed

International university ranking indexes in the context of sustainable development and universities in Turkey

2015 yılında gerçekleştirilen Birleşmiş Milletler (BM) Sürdürülebilir Kalkınma Konferansında “Gündem 2030: BM Sürdürülebilir Kalkınma Amaçları” kabul edilmiştir. Üniversiteler, bu amaçların hayata geçirilmesi sürecinde yol gösterici olarak görülmüş; hem yeni fikirlerin yayılması ve benimsetilmesi kabiliyetleri hem de eğitim ve araştırma olanaklarıyla kilit bir rol üstelenmişlerdir. Son yıllarda üniversiteleri farklı yönleriyle değerlendirerek sıralamalar oluşturan STARS, UI GreenMetric ve Times Yükseköğrenim Etki Sıralaması (Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings) gibi indeksler geliştirilmiş ve bu indekslerin değerlendirme kriterleri arasında üniversitelerin Sürdürülebilir Kalkınma Amaçları doğrultusunda hayata geçirdikleri girişimlere de yer verilmiştir. Bu amaçları değerlendirmeye alan çeşitli indekslerin varlığı üniversitelerin girişimlerinin görünürlüğünü arttırmış, bu alanda elde edilen başarıların karşılaştırılması için bir alan yaratmış; ayrıca birçok üniversitenin farkındalığını ve motivasyonunu güçlendirmiştir. Bu çalışma kapsamında, Sürdürülebilir Kalkınma Amaçlarını da inceleyen STARS, UI GreenMetric ve Times Yükseköğrenim Etki Sıralaması indeksleri incelenmiş; Türkiye’deki üniversitelerin bu indekslere katılımları ve bu katılımın yıllar içindeki gelişimi karşılaştırmalı olarak analiz edilmiştir. Böylelikle Türkiye’deki üniversitelerin sürdürülebilirlik performansları ile dünyadaki üniversiteler arasındaki yerlerine dair bir genelleme yapılabilmiştir.At the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development held in New York in 2015, “Agenda 2030: UN Sustainable Development Goals” was adopted. Universities play a key role in the realization of Sustainable Development Goals by guiding the society, enabling the dissemination and adoption of new ideas as well as education and research opportunities they provide. In recent years, indexes like Stars, UI GreenMetric and THE Impact Rankings have been developed that evaluate and rank universities in the world with different aspects. These indexes have started to include the initiatives of universities in line with the Sustainable Development Goals among their evaluation criteria. The existence of indexes makes the initiatives of universities in this direction visible, allows universities to compare their achievements in this field with other universities, and ultimately provides awareness and motivation for all universities to take a step in this direction.In this article, Stars, UI GreenMetric and the Impact Rankings, that rank the universities by evaluating their initiatives towards Sustainable Development Goals, were examined. The participation of Turkish universities as well as their positions in these indexes have been analyzed comparatively over the years. Thus, a generalization could be made about the sustainability performances of universities in Turkey and their place among universities in the world

Antioxidant and oxidative stress: a mutual interplay in age-related diseases

Aging is the progressive loss of organ and tissue function over time. Growing older is positively linked to cognitive and biological degeneration such as physical frailty, psychological impairment, and cognitive decline. Oxidative stress is considered as an imbalance between pro- and antioxidant species, which results in molecular and cellular damage. Oxidative stress plays a crucial role in the development of age-related diseases. Emerging research evidence has suggested that antioxidant can control the autoxidation by interrupting the propagation of free radicals or by inhibiting the formation of free radicals and subsequently reduce oxidative stress, improve immune function, and increase healthy longevity. Indeed, oxidation damage is highly dependent on the inherited or acquired defects in enzymes involved in the redox-mediated signaling pathways. Therefore, the role of molecules with antioxidant activity that promote healthy aging and counteract oxidative stress is worth to discuss further. Of particular interest in this article, we highlighted the molecular mechanisms of antioxidants involved in the prevention of age-related diseases. Taken together, a better understanding of the role of antioxidants involved in redox modulation of inflammation would provide a useful approach for potential interventions, and subsequently promoting healthy longevity

Evaluation of brand equity using balanced scorecard: Evidence from privatized Turkish firms

13th International Strategic Management Conference (ISMC) -- JUL 06-08, 2017 -- Podgorica, MONTENEGROWOS: 000426866600006Recent studies generally approach brand equity from a consumer oriented paradigm. Based on previous researches, the aim of this paper is to evaluate brand equity by a multidimensional perspective based on balanced scorecard approach. Besides consumer based aspect; financial, organizational, competition dimensions of brand equity are evaluated within a sample of privatized firms listed in Borsa Istanbul. For measuring brand equity, the study offers an original methodology of a hybrid multi-criteria decision making model designed for fuzzy environment. Thereby, the brand equity performances of the selected privatized firms are analyzed by using Fuzzy DEMATEL and Fuzzy VIKOR methods. The results of the analyses present that consumer based dimension is the most influential determinant of brand equity performance. Likewise, financial based dimension is found out to have effects on other brand equity dimensions. Finally, the study findings prove that firms privatized with a high-public-offering-share have the best brand equity performance compared to others

Analyzing perceived healthcare service quality on patient related outcomes

WOS: 000413090700002Purpose - Through the lens of a total quality management approach, this paper aims to examine the effects of health-care service quality on patient satisfaction, repatronage intention (RI) and positive word-of mouth (PWOM) at a public hospital specialized in women and children's diseases. The contribution is to measure and compare patient expectations and perceptions related to the public health service quality. Design/methodology/approach - A structured questionnaire was distributed to in-patients who stayed at a public training and research hospital for at least three days. To analyze the relationship between variables, multiple regression analysis was used. To test the difference between expected and perceived service quality, the paired-sample t-test was used. Findings - The findings provided empirical evidence that perceived service quality significantly influenced patient satisfaction, RI and PWOM. The "responsiveness and reliability" factor was found to be the most influential on patient RI and PWOM. The "tangibility" dimension had the strongest influence on patient satisfaction. Practical implications - The results reveal that a reliable and responsive service, empathic personnel behaviors and appropriate tangibles are the outstanding factors for high levels of patient satisfaction, RI and PWOM. Originality/value - Although the concepts of perceived service quality, patient satisfaction, RI and PWOM are explored frequently in service literature, there are few researches that focus on specialized health services for women and children's diseases. By evaluating the service quality, it is hoped to provide an insight to health-care managers about the service quality dimensions and their relationship with patient satisfaction, RI and PWOM, specifically based on women patients

Yüksek kolesterol diyeti ile oluşturulan ateroskleroz modelinde endoplazmik retikulum stres ve nükleer faktör-eritroid 2 ilişkili faktör 2 yolağının rolü

TÜRKÇEYüksek Kolesterol Diyeti ile Oluşturulan Ateroskleroz Modelinde Endoplazmik Retikulum Stres ve Nükleer Faktör-Eritroid 2 İlişkili Faktör 2 Yolağının RolüAmaç: Hiperkolesterolemi, ateroskleroz gelişiminde ana risk faktörü olmakla beraber moleküler mekanizmaları hala tam olarak aydınlatılamamıştır. Bu nedenle, bu çalışmamızdaki amacımız, yüksek kolesterol diyeti ile oluşturulan ateroskleroz modelinde, oksidatif ve endoplazmik retikulum (ER) stres ile aktive olan hücresel savunma mekanizmalarını incelemek ve vitamin E’ nin bu mekanizmalar üzerindeki olası koruyucu etkilerini araştırmaktır. Gereç ve Yöntem: Çalışmamızda, 2-4 aylık 24 adet erkek albino tavşan 4 gruba ayrıldı: 1) Vitamin E’ den fakir yem ile beslendi. 2) Vitamin E’ den fakir yem ile beslendi ve vitamin E i.m. olarak 50 mg/kg/gün uygulandı. 3) % 2 kolesterol içeren vitamin E’ den fakir yem ile beslendi. 4) % 2 kolesterol içeren vitamin E‘ den fakir yem beslendi ve vitamin E i.m. olarak 50 mg/kg/gün uygulandı. Sekiz hafta sonunda, torasik aortalar ışık mikroskobu ile incelendi. Aorta dokusunda fosfo IRE-1, fosfo PERK, Grp94, Grp78, Nrf2, GSTα ve NOX4 protein düzeyleri immunblotlama tekniği ile ve proteazom aktivitesi flurometrik yöntem ile incelendi.Bulgular: Kolesterol ile beslenen tavşanların aorta dokusunda aterosklerotik lezyonlar geliştirken, vitamin E verilen tavşanlarda lipit birikiminin ve köpük hücre oluşumunun azaldığı gözlendi. Aorta dokusunda fosfo IRE-1, fosfo PERK, Grp94, Grp78, Nrf2 ve NOX4 protein ekspresyonlarının kolesterol grubunda kontrollere göre arttığı bulundu. Kolesterol grubunda azalma görülen GSTα ekspresyonu ve proteazomal aktivasyonun ise kolesterol+vitamin E grubunda arttığı bulundu.Sonuçlar: Çalışmamız, kolesterolden zengin diyetin ateroskleroz gelişimine oksidatif ve ER stres ilişkili yolaklar ile sebep olabileceğini ve vitamin E’ nin bu mekanizmalar üzerinden koruma etkisi olabileceğini göstermiştir.Anahtar Kelimeler: Hiperkolesterolemi, oksidatif stres, ER stres, Nrf2, proteazomABSTRACTThe Role of Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and Nuclear Factor-Erityroid 2 Related Factor in High-Cholesterol Diet Induced AtherosclerosisPerinur BozaykutAim: Hypercholesterolemia is the major risk factor for the development of atherosclerosis although the mechanism of action still remains unclear. In the present study, our aim was to investigate cellular defenses activated by oxidative and endoplasmic reticulum stres (ER) on cholesterol diet induced atherosclerosis, and to determine the effects of vitamin E on the related mechanisms, in vivo. Methods: Twenty-four male albino rabbits were assigned randomly to four groups fed: 1) vitamin E deficient diet, 2) vitamin E deficient diet with daily intramuscular injections of vitamin E (50 mg/kg), 3) vitamin E deficient diet containing 2% cholesterol and 4) vitamin E deficient diet containing 2% cholesterol with daily intramuscular injections of vitamin E (50 mg/kg). The consequences of hypercholestrolemic diet and vitamin E effect were examined determining phospho PERK, phospho IRE-1, Grp94, Grp78, Nrf2, GSTα and NOX4 protein levels by immunoblotting and the proteasomal activity by fluorometric detection method in aortic tissues. Results: Cholesterol fed rabbits exhibited atherosclerotic lesions and endothelial damage compared to control rabbits wheras lipid accumulation and foam cell formation was detectable in animals fed cholesterol and treated with vitamin E. Phospho IRE-1, phospho PERK, Grp94, Grp78, Nrf2 and NOX4 expressions were increased by the cholesterol-rich diet. Whereas, vitamin E resulted in elevated GSTα expression in aortae. Notably, the proteasomal activity which was impaired in cholesterol fed group was increased by vitamin E. Conclusion: Our result demonstrated that cholesterol-rich diet accounts for the development of atherosclerosis via oxidative and ER stress related factors and vitamin E treatment affords protection via these factors.Keywords: Hypercholesterolemia, ER stress, oxidative stres, Nrf2, proteasom